Savage could become home to what's believed to be the first gated, upscale apartment complex in Minnesota.
The Springs at Egan Drive would put almost 300 apartments, a clubhouse, pool, car washing station and pet playground on a chunk of farmland sometimes called "the pumpkin patch" by residents. The entire site would be surrounded by a black wrought-iron fence with a security gate to control who comes in.
A representative of the developer, Continental Properties, told city planning commissioners at a recent meeting that the fence is to "give the sense of security, the sense of privacy" to the complex's residents.
Far from being offended by the idea of high-buck renters putting up a fence to keep them out, neighbors of the proposed project are instead worried about the addition of high-density housing and possible traffic problems at the development's lone entry point.
"I'm curious on the fencing … is that to keep people in or out?" said nearby homeowner Tom Gavinski. He asked whether the fence's height could be bumped up from 4 to 6 feet to provide a bigger buffer to the surrounding neighborhood.
The planning commission unanimously approved the project's preliminary development plan after adding a number of conditions. The City Council is scheduled to consider it Tuesday.
Unlike the South and Southwest, Minnesota has been slow to embrace gated communities, and the few in the Twin Cities area are made up of owner-occupied dwellings, mostly upper-bracket, single-family homes.
"It's a marketing tool to appeal to that feeling of being private, separating yourself from people who are not in your community," said Mary Bujold, president of multifamily housing consultant Maxfield Research. "In Minnesota, we have much less of that kind of feeling. We have a history and culture of being more inclusive."
